This morning after fortifying ourselves with a substantial breakfast at
the Hotel we took the subway to the Summer Palace Park. This is about 50 mins
by train and even though I had printed off copious notes on how to get there,
it was not as simple as follow the crowds. Once we got off the train at Bagou,
we did not follow any crowds as there were none to follow. In fact, only one
other person, a young American lady – also lost, like ourselves…. So we caught
a taxi and, as very few Chinese speak English, managed to convey our requested
destination with the help of a mapping App that works in China. (Google apps
don’t as Google has yet to reach an understanding on data sharing with the
Chinese Government.)
We exited the taxi at the New Palace Gate on the eastern side of the
park and purchased the tickets. All around the entrance and inside the east
side of the park amongst the many willow trees, little pieces of fluff floated
on the wind (catkins – apparently) almost like a snow storm.
The park is huge and mainly gardens with many buildings which are
beautifully decorated in Chinese Styles with large courtyards surrounding Lake
Kunming.
We walked around the lake, saw many attractions including the palace, Marble
Boat, the Bronze Ox and also crossed the 17 arch bridge to Nanhu Island. We
also saw the East, North and South Gates, exiting through the latter after our
5 hour visit. The Long Corridor and the buildings on Longevity Hill were also
spectacular.
The gardens were pretty with many peach trees in blossom, and a lot of
yellow flowered bushes and crocuses in the gardens. We passed numerous tea
houses and shops selling cloisonné-style vases, bangles and dishes. Just below
the entrance to Longevity Hill, a Chinese family asked us to pose with them for
a photo, very strange as we had no idea what they wanted, as they spoke no
English and we no Chinese… We saw only a
handful of Europeans amongst the thousands of Chinese tourists in the park, and
no Europeans at all on the subway.
We walked back to the station and took the train back to our Hotel
arriving around 5pm.
My phone tells me we walked about 15km today. Dinner this evening was at
the hotel and very pleasant.
Jennie R
2018-05-19
Hi Tarina, lovely photos and interesting destination.I have not visited mainland China. In Cambodia I was enquiring about a restaurant menu...just checking it out for dinner that evening. Owner could not speak English and no Khmer from me...so I spoke English into her phone and it was translated to Khmer and she understood my question. I know this has been around for a while now, but travel these days is different from 20 years ago that’s for sure!...as a similar experience with you.
Jenny Ferns
2018-05-26
Jenny Ferns Hi Tarina, It looks like you had beautiful mid-spring weather, still some blossoms in evidence.